Debts
by L.O.A.D
Summary: The 'friends' decide to call in Facilier's debt. Pre movie. May edit 1st chapter
1. Chapter 1

**This story takes place before the movie. I'm not sure when but it's before the opening scene. If Tiana and Charlotte have been born, they're probably infants. Facilier also doesn't have his living shadow yet. He's probably in his twenties. I own nothing please review.**

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It was a warm summer night in the river city of New Orleans but that didn't mean that the city was asleep. In an alleyway there was an emporium and in this emporium there was a witch doctor named Facilier. He was preparing to go to bed when the floor of emporium began to shake, knocking him off his feet. On the wall infront of him a large tribal mask appeared, a menacing leer on its face. It opened its mouth and opened a portal, from which dozens of shadows rushed from, filling the room and surrounding the witch doctor. The portal closed and Facilier got to his feet, his legs shaking from fear.

"Friends?!" He said politely, not wanting to anger the spirits. "What brings y'all here on this fine evening?" The shadows and ask laughed menacingly.

_When we helped get your powers, _a collection of the shadows said, _we asked for one thing in return; souls. And so far, your attempts at paying us back have been pitiful. _Facilier could see some of the shadows moving closer to him, as if waiting for some sort of command. One of them, either an incredibly bold or incredibly inquisitive shade, whose form was that of a large rattlesnake, lifted Facilier's hat off his head and looked at it. Facilier grabbed back his levatating hat and replaced it on his head. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the snake shodow being repremanded by its fellows. Facilier swallowed nervously.

"I know I've been a little late paying y'all back," he said, "but y'all must understand, these things take time. Harvesting souls isn't easy." The mask growled.

_That is no excuse, _he snarled at the frightened Facilier, making him cower away. He looked at his commanions, who nodded and began to move closer to the voodoo man, laughing menacingly. Facilier could feel something press against his back, pushing him closer to the mask. The maske opened its jaw and reopened the portal.

"What?! What are y'all doing?!" Facilier gasped in horror, trying to resist the force pushing him towards the portal. He felt unseen hands grasp onto his wrists as the shadows grabbed his and he began to struggled as they dragged him towards the mask.

_Remember the other part of our deal_? The shadows asked_. If you failed to pay us back, your soul is ours. _They laughed in unison. _And we're calling in your debt._

"No!" Facilier gasped, starting to tremble. "I-I just need more time! I can pay y'all back, I promise!" In the distance he could hear the tolling of the church bells, signaling that it was midnight. He stopped moving inches in front of the portal, his whole body trembling as sweat ran down the side of his face. "Just a little more time," he begged. The shadows began to chuckle as the released the voodoo man. He dropeed to the ground and scrambled away from the mask.

_One more chance, _they said, as they began to slide into the portal. _You have until midnight tommorrow to bring one hundred souls to us. 24 hours _should_ be enough. Do this or else. _After the last shadow entered the mask it slammed shut and vanished, bringing the portal with it. Facilier laid on the ground trembling, his mind and heart racing.

_How am I supposed to get a hundred souls by midnight tommorrow?_

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Facilier traveled the city, trying desperately to find people to give to the 'friends.' He wasn't having much luck though. It was already 3 in the after noon and he hadn't managed to to collect even a single soul.

"Gentlemen!" He said to a group of passing men. "Want to know your future? Find true love? Make all your dreams come true?" They didn't even slow down, If anything they sped up. Facilier slumped against a wall, trembling. If he couldn't find a hundred souls in twelve hours he was doomed. He slipped into an alleyway and sank to the ground, burying his head in his hands. A ribbiting noise made him look up. A frog was sitting right in front of him. He looked at the animal for a while before a plan came into his head. He just might have a way out of this.

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**Ooh. What's he thinking? Poor Facilier, he's so cute when he's scared. The 'friends' want to call in his debt. I like that snake one, it was funny. I wonder if he's anyone we've seen before? What do you guys think?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter two is up! R&R. I own nothing**

Facilier was alone in his emporium, a green gem clutched in his hand and sweat rolling down his neck. He walked around, lighting candles in a circle. If he had to fight, he was hoping those would help. He was desperatly hoping that his plan would work, but there was no guarantee the 'Friends' would approve. At best they could except it, at worst they could kill him. He paced back and forth waiting for midnight, fearing what the friends would think. They'd have to understand. They didn't give him enough time. He didn't have a choice but to find an alternative. He couldn't kill a hunderd people in one day time. No matter how reluctant the police were to go after him, they'd have no choice. In the distance he could the clock strike midnight as the bell began to sound. The floor started to shake but this time he prepared. He held the gem to his chest and started to tremble. The mask appeared and opened the portal, A swarm of shadows entered the room, including the rattlesnake one from yesterday. That particlular shade took one look at the candles and hid in the darkness behind the bookshelf. The mouth closed and glared at Facilier.

_Well? _The mask asked menacingly. Facilier swallowed and stepped forward, holding out the gem. The mask opened it mouth and Facilier, hesitantly moved closer. He stared into the abyss, feeling uncomfortably like his soul was what was being gazed into. Trembling he reached out and dropped the gem into the mouth. The jaws slammed shut in outrage, the eyes narrowing. Facilier swallowed and steppped back, heart racing. The shadows that filled the room snarled at him.

"Now, Friends," he said, hoping they'd let him explain. "The way I see it is this, y'all told me to get a hundred souls to you, but you never specified that y'all wanted them to be human. And, honestly, it was easier finding a hundred frogs than a hundred people." He smiled nervously. The mask glared at him. Out of the corner of his eye he could the the shadows moving away from them. His heart started to race, something bad was going to happen, he knew it.

Before he could react, an invisible hand wrapped around him, ifting him off the ground and threatening to crush the scrawny voodoo man. Facilier struggled as the hand tightened, feeling as if every bone in his body would snap at the same time.

"Now hold on!" He gasped, struggling to breath. "Y'all can't get mad just because I found a way around our deal. That ain't fair!" The hand tightened and he could fell some of his ribs cracking.

_We can, _hissed the mask, _and we are. We _graciously _gave you more time to accomplish a simple task and you failed. We should crush you like a fly. _The hand tightened. Facilier to get one of is hands free so he could use the candles but to no avail. He couldn't breath now and could feel conciousness slipping away. The mask smiled then loosened its hold, dropping him to the ground. The mask continued speaking. _But we won't. You're cunning, and a quick thinker. We still have use for you, but hear this. Try that again, _Facilier could feel claws scratching at his belly, drawing blood,_ and we'll gut you like a pig. Understand? _Facilier nodded, too frightened to argue. The mask looked at the shadows, who dissapeared into its mask. The mask watched Facilier for a moment before vanishing himself. Facilier sighed with relief and stood up, knees shaking. Before he had the chance to relax, however, he sensed that he wasn't alone.

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**Uh oh! What is he sensing? The 'Friends' let him get away with his trick this time, but their not going to stand for it in the future. They'll have none of that crap.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Third and final chapter. i own nothing. Please review. The '*' and '**' will be explained below. **

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Facilier turned around quickly, bringing the fire from the candle into his hand. He wasn't going to get caught off guard this time. He walked around the room, ready to destroy whatever was in it.

"Y'all better come out," he said. "I don't like surprises." He heard a noise coming from behind the bookshelf. Using his magic he moved the bookshelf. The snake shadow rushed out from behind it. Gliding quickly to the other side of the room. It looked around disorientated. Facilier sent a blast of fire towards it, which it dodged. It bared its fangs and tackled Facilier's shadow, knocking him down. He could feel a pressure of his chest. Using his shadow as a guide, he sent a ball of fire at where the shade was. It fell back, obviously injured and shrank back into the corner, cowering.

Facilier got to his feet, surprised at the shades silence. Even injured it didn't make the sound typical of its kind. Facilier approached the wounded shade cautiously, ready to finish it off. Unexpectedly the shadow rushed forward, knocking Facilier on his back and putting out the flames around the room. It then drew back over the fallen voodoo man, its jaws opened in a silent snarl, ready to strike. Facilier put his hands over his head, waiting for the shadow to kill him. To his surprise, it didn't. Instead it slithered away and seemed to almost sulk.

Facilier got to his feet, stunned. He'd never known a shadow to show mercy when dealing with prey. His curiosity piqued he walked towards it. It backed away and started to tremble.

"It's alright," he said. "I won't hurt y'all." Slowly the shadow came towards him. Facilier could sense that it was still injured from the fire. Facilier then remembered something. "Y'all didn't want to hurt me, did you?" He said. He remembered that the shadow had only attack him after he had attacked first. "You were just scared." The shadow nodded, rubbing against his leg like a frightened kitten. Facilier looked at the shadow. "Can y'all talk?" The shadow shook its head. Facilier laughed.

"Well what do you know," he said. "A mute shadow! I've never heard one before." He laughed at his joke while the shadow glared at him.* He patted the thing on its head, now calm. Having a 'Friend on the Other Side' that was actually his friend might come in handy, but first he needed to know more about it. He wished he could read a shadow's thoughts but their minds were just too foreign. Sitting down on the floor he began to ask the shadow some questions.

"So," he said. "Boy or girl?" The shade responded by poking him in the chest. "Boy?" He asked. It nodded. "Ok, got a name?" It shook its head. "Now that's odd," Facilier said. Shadow's usually at least had titles. Unless… "How old are you?" The shadow held up its tail. Facilier didn't know what that meant so he guessed.

"Fifty?" He asked, knowing that even the youngest 'Friends' were old. The shade shook his head, lowering its tail. "Younger than fifty?" Facilier asked. The shade nodded. The witch doctor nodded and thought for a moment. "Twenty-five?" The shade repeated its motion, signaling it was younger. Facilier sighed. "Six?" He hazard. The shade shook its head and repeated the motion. Facilier stood up.

"Younger than six?!" He asked. "How old are you?! _ONE?!_" The shadow nodded cautiously, frightened by his outburst. He calmed himself down and looked at the shadow. One. That explained why it was so frightened; it was just a baby. He knew enough about shadows to know they spent the first year in a dormant state. There was a good chance that this shade had only just woken up. He sighed, now wondering what a shadow so young was doing out of The Other Side.

"Why did they let you leave?" he asked the shadow, who looked away sadly.** "Alright," Facilier said. "Let's get you home." The shadow shook its head. Before Facilier could react it disappeared. He looked around for it. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a flash of darkness so he turned. It was just his own shadow.

Suddenly an odd sensation came over him. It felt as though he was now sharing his body with another spirit, while at the same time it felt as if his own soul was being split between two vessels. He felt linked spiritually with something, though what he wasn't sure. Then, to his surprise, his shadow moved on its own. It moved away from him, then changed its shape into that of a rattlesnake. It changed back and smiled at him. The stress from the meddling finally got to him and he collapsed to the ground. The shadow glided over and rubbed against him. Oddly enough Facilier knew what he was saying.

_Now I can stay with you! _He said happily. When Facilier didn't respond with the same enthusiasm, the shade saddened. _You're angry. _It said, rubbing against him. _I'm sorry; I just wanted to stay. I'll leave if you want me to. _Facilier looked at the shadow and smiled, getting to his feet.

"Are you kidding?" He asked. "I'm not mad, I'm delighted! Do y'all know how long I've been trying to convince one of y'all to come be my familiar? Now I can show that no good Odie a thing or two." He looked the shadow over and smiled. "Y'all gonna need a name shadow." He said.

_Shadow will be fine, _the shade said simply. Facilier shrugged.

"Whatever you want," he said. He smiled; maybe something good would come out of his knowing the 'friends' after all.

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**Before they bonded Facilier couldn't understand Shadow, but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't be able to. Translations for two of his motions are below.**

***=Yeah, I haven't heard that one before**

****=They don't like me. I think they wanted me to get lost.**

**Sorry for the confusion, hope it wasn't too hard to understand.**

**Poor little Shadow was so scared here. Facilier really hurt him with that fire.**

**Review!**


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